News In Brief

FarmaTag labels (© pharmacy.moh.gov.my).

 

Techno Secure has been supplying the labels (called FarmaTag™) since 2019. The labels carry advanced security features, including a hologram, colour changing element, serial number and QR code. In addition, users can check the label’s authenticity by means of a decoder found in all licensed pharmacies, as well as validate the code online with the FarmaChecker app. Finally, they can check the validity of product registration numbers by visiting the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency’s website.

This universal, phygital authentication and tracing system for all registered pharma products sold in Malaysia was first introduced in 2005, with a label called Meditag™, provided by Mediharta. Meditag was replaced in 2019 by the current FarmaTag label.

Pakistan to Print Watermarked Ballot Papers

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is ready to print about 250 million ballot papers with watermark security features before the next general election (on 8 February 2024).

Three printing machines will be employed for this purpose, with the Security Printing Corporation, the Pakistan Postal Foundation, and the Printing Corporation of Pakistan sharing the workload at 25%, 40% and 35%, respectively. The decision aims to ensure the integrity and security of the electoral process, with a meticulous plan for secured transportation from printing machines to the designated officials.

In 2018 (the last general election), Pakistan printed ballot papers with a watermark for the first time. ECP procured the unique ballot papers from a French company. It spent almost PKR 2 billion ($7 million) printing 210 million ballot papers, making it the most expensive venture in the country’s elections.

The general elections in 2024 will again be expensive, with PKR 4.83 billion ($17 million) to be spent on printing the ballot papers.

Anglo American Launches Valutrax Digital Traceability

Anglo American, a British multinational mining company, has announced the launch of Valutrax™, a proprietary digital traceability solution designed to assure customers of the provenance of the products they purchase. Valutrax offers a single point of access to core information about the products, helping to trace metals and minerals from source to customer through a tailored selection of key provenance and sustainability indicators.

Anglo American’s digital traceability journey began in 2018, with De Beers’ investment in Tracr™, the world’s first fully distributed diamond traceability platform with the ability to explore the provenance and authenticity of a diamond.

A pilot version of Valutrax was rolled out to a selection of Anglo American

customers in late 2022. The feedback and input gathered during this phase have informed ongoing development. Valutrax is currently available to customers purchasing ferronickel, copper concentrates, and iron ore mined products, with plans to integrate other products.

Valutrax is built on blockchain technology, a distributed database that allows information to be securely stored in a digital format and gives participating customers access to a comprehensive, immutable view of a product’s core information via a user-friendly portal.

UPP Rebrands as E7 Group

UAE-based United Printing & Publishing has unveiled a new brand identity as E7 Group.

The ‘E’ of ‘E7’ refers to ‘Emirates’ and the ‘7’ refers to the number of emirates within the UAE federation.

The new identity is inspired by the UAE’s unity and future-facing strategy, conveying the company’s ambition to deliver leading security systems and sustainable packaging capabilities across the region.

The rebranding follows a recently completed merger between ADC Acquisition Corp and UPP, which made UPP into a publicly listed company on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. As part of the deal, AED 1.1 billion ($300 million) was transferred to the company, significantly accelerating E7 Group’s growth strategy.

E7 comprises four key subsidiaries: E7 Printing, E7 Security, E7 Packaging and Tawzea. While E7 Security provides security printing solutions for banking, government, hospitality, retail, telecom, and transport sectors, E7 Packaging produces foldable boxes, food packaging, and paper bags, E7 Printing is one of the region’s largest commercial printers, and Tawzea by E7 provides customers with distribution, logistics, and mailing services.

SmartID Works Offline to Detect Counterfeits

While many traceability and authentication solutions rely on users being able to access an online database, the SmartID system, developed by a consortium of Germany’s Fraunhofer research institutes, works entirely offline.

SmartID makes use of tiny features that are unique to the surface texture of the packaging of individual products. During the manufacturing process, a unique QR code is printed onto each package containing information on that package’s respective texture ‘fingerprint’. Alongside the QR code is a small blank area, where nothing is printed.

When a consumer or retailer wishes to check a product, they just use their smartphone camera to scan both the code and the area beside it. If the fingerprint relayed by the code matches the one that is imaged by the phone, then an app on the phone will let the user know that the product is genuine – and no internet access or database is necessary.

SmartID QR codes, along with the surface texture of the packaging, can be read by a smartphone (source: Fraunhofer Society).